howdy hey!

i want to start out this blog with an apology. for the 10 people that actually read this blog, i feel awful knowing i abandoned you for a few months! and after doing so well with weekly posts! consider my new year’s resolution of actually keeping up with a blog gone. a moment of silence, please.

…

thank you.

now that i got that out of the way, i guess now it’s a good time to say that i’ve missed you and that i’ve missed this little word-vomit puddle of mine (gross imagery, i’m so sorry). and now that i’m settled into my cute little socal cottage with my wonderful friends, i’m excited to get back into the swing of things. well, the swing of blogging. you really didn’t think i had my life together, did you?

however, in a way, i’m getting there. as i mentioned, i recently moved into the cutest little cottage near school with 5 good girlfriends of mine. and after few less-than-ideal living situations, i want you to know that my housing now is the best it’s ever been.

i feel really at home.

which is weird, considering how crazy the world is right now. a pandemic summer really made me appreciate my friends back home, and i grew closer to them than i ever have before. while my boyfriend (jake) and i still didn’t get to see each other much, the few times a week we did get to hang out were wonderful and only made us grow as a couple. so, it was kind of tough having to pack up all of my stuff (officially) and move across the country after having an absolutely amazing summer.

okay, i lied. it was really tough.

however, like i said, my roommates are so so so so wonderful. they’re lovely, wholesome, intelligent, kind, and warm. it’s definitely quite the 180 from my past: instead of partying and downing mass amounts of fireball (gag), i have movie nights with charcuterie boards and bookshelves full of amazing literature that my housemates and i love to read. it’s amazing.

speaking of books, this brings me to my next point: i published one. a book. i published a book.

i had been working on this “book” since january: organizing and writing poems, brainstorming names, designing covers…the whole nine yards. and after probably 10,000,000 drafts, many sleepless nights, and mountains of self-doubt, i woman-ed up and self-published my first collection of poetry: the view from the moon.

this was scary. considering the fact that i’m not super ~open~ about my personal life and struggles (as i’ve mentioned before), publishing an entire collection of poetry full of my darkest, most intimate thoughts for the entire world to see? that’s some scary, scary shit.

but i realized that if i ever wanted to become something as a writer, i had to get over that initial mound of insecurity and start putting myself out there. i had/have zero publishing connections, so i decided to bit the bullet and self-publish my little collection through kindle direct publishing to be sold on amazons worldwide.

surprisingly, it didn’t do horrible for the first few days. i peaked pretty highly on the “women poets” category on amazon and have sold close to 100 copies in the past few weeks! my sales are slowing, but i don’t mind. i’m just glad at least one person bought it!

however, i was hit with some crazy news yesterday from my mom.

“you can buy your book at barnes and noble too!“

well f*ck.

while my book is high up on the charts (she’s chillin’ at #9,999,999 at the moment. no big deal), i want her to do well. especially at barnes and noble.

the thing is with b&n is that if my book sells enough copies online, barnes and noble will sell it in stores. i mean, that’s any writer’s dream! i have faith that somehow, some way, my little book will gain some traction and earn a place in that wonderful poetry isle alongside olivia gatwood and madisen kuhn. hey, a girl can dream right?

so with all of that being said, life is pretty good. considering we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, a revolution (here are some resources on how you can help change the world), and everything crazy that could happen, happening, i’m confident that our world will be changing soon. for the better. and i have faith in that.

you can buy my book from amazon here, or from barnes and noble here. please be sure to leave a good review to boost my spot on the charts! i’ll owe you a hug!

from 6 feet away, obviously.

see you next week,

julianna